We don't particularly like this. By and large, smuggling tends to be an open-and-shut case. You're caught with something you shouldn't have in your vehicle that came from somewhere else, and well, that's generally it. Property seizures are the norm in such cases, but Goliad County, Texas officials have taken things a step further. They've been lending seized cars out to county officials. Frankly, though, we believe once a vehicle has been seized, it should be left unmolested until the perp is convicted and then auctioned off. If officials are driving vehicles owned by not-yet convicted people who are in custody awaiting or on trial? (Which isn't implicitly clear in the Houston Chronicle article we're drawing from.) That's abuse. – Davey G. Johnson